Grand Prix of Baltimore Starts This Weekend

The third annual Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT is scheduled to start on Aug. 30 and will end on Sept. 1.

Just as in the past two years, the races of the Grand Prix of Baltimore will be driven on a temporary street circuit located at the inner harbor area; the circuit runs just more than two miles long in a clock-wise direction with the start and finish line located on Pratt Street.

Avid race car fans will be treated to one of only two events in the United States to feature the IZOD IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patron in the same weekend event.

The ALMS race is a timed competition; the racecar that completes the most laps during a span of 2 hours and 45 minutes wins the race. This race will start 3:45 p.m., Aug. 31.

The IZOD IndyCar Series – considered the main event of the Grand Prix of Baltimore – runs 75 laps around the Inner Harbor circuit. This race is the final event of the weekend and will start 2:40 p.m., Sept. 1 and end approximately 4:45 p.m.

There will also be the Firestone Indy Lights race, a 35-lap race, scheduled on Sunday at 12:35 p.m., and the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama scheduled on Saturday at 1:40 p.m.

The weekend event also offers fun and entertainment beyond just watching the race, such as live musical entertainment from multi-platinum recording American rock band LIVE. There will also be the Esskay Family Fun Zone, which offers interactive video games for children of all ages, and the Budweiser Party Zone, which offers food, beverages and music for visitors of the age 21-and-older.

Drivers to Look For –
The top five IndyCar drivers heading into the weekend are Brazilian driver Helio Castroneves, New Zealand driver Scott Dixon, American driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, American driver Marco Andretti and French driver Simon Pagenaud.Hunter-Reay won the 2012 Grand Prix of Baltimore IndyCar race. No African-American or any other drivers of minority descent have been qualified to compete in the race.